Car step



C. LOVELACE AND A.,D. FOUSHA.

CAR STEP.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.22,192I.

1,4@s,125 Patented Jan. 10,1922.

' 2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

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PATENT @FFHQE.

CLEO LOVELACE AND ARTHUR D. FOUSHA, OF ABERDEEN, WASHINGTON.

CAR STEP.

Application filed August 22, 1921.

To all to ham it may concern Be it known that we, CLno LOVELAGE and ARTHUR D. FoUsHA, citizens of the United States, residin at Aberdeen, in the county of Grays Harbor, State of Washington, have invented a new and useful Car Step, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an extension step to be used in connection with railway cars, one of the objects of the invention being to provide an extension step which, when not in use, will be folded close toand under the lower step of the car, there being no part of the step or its actuating mechanism extending below the steps of the car and likely to be torn loose by coming against banked snow or any other obstruction in the path thereof.

Another object is to provide an extension step and operating mechanism therefor that is simple and durable in construction and can be applied readily to a car.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that, within the scope of what is claimed, changes in the precise embodiment of the invention shown can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

1n said drawings- Figure 1 is a view partly in rear elevation and partly in section of a car step with the extension step connected thereto and extended to active position.

Figure 2 is a rear elevation of the car step and showing the extension step retracted.

Figure 3 is a back elevation of the structure shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 is a top plan view, the raised trap door being shown in section.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 1 designates the hangers or side supports of the fixed steps 2 of a car, the space between the upper ends of these supports being adapted to be closed in the usual manner by a trap door 3. Secured to the bottom face of the trap door is a plate at having an angular finger 5 extending therefrom along the axis of movement of the trap door and this finger is slidably engaged by Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 16, 1922.

Serial No. 494,292.

a coupling sleeve 6 adapted to rotate therewith when the trap door is swung to open or closed position.

Journaled in the back or riser of the upper step 2 is a short shaft 7 which aligns with the axis of rotation of the trap door and has an angular outer end 8 adapted to be engaged by the coupling sleeve (3 so that the shaft and door will thus rotate or move in unison. The shaft is provided at its inner end with a downwardly extending crank arm 9 and pivotally connected to the riser extending upwardly from the upper step 2 is a bracket 10 to which is pivotally connected one end of a lever 11. The other end of this lever works between an arcuate guide 12 and the said step riser and a link 18 connects this lever to the crank arm 1) so that when the shaft 7 is rotated the crank arm will operate to raise or -lower the lever 11 by pulling or thrusting through the link 13.

Journaled in the hangers or supports 1 back of the upper riser of the steps 2 is a shaft 1 1 provided at an intermedia e point with a crank arm 15. This arm is connected by links 16 to the lever 11. A spring 17 connects the arm 15 to the platform 18 of the car so that said arm as well as the lever 11 is normally elevated.

The shaft 14 is provided at its ends with arms 19 extending along the outer sides of the supports or hangers 1. Pivotally connected to the outer sides of said supports or hangers near the outer edges thereof are inwardly extending levers 20 and the inner ends of these levers are connected by links 21 to the outer ends of the arms 19.

Additional levers 22 are pivotally connected to the outer faces of the ports or hangers 1 close to the lower ends thereof adjacent the outer edge of the lower step and these levers 22 extend inwardly and are pivotally attached to the angle portion of an Lshaped hanger 23 having a horizontally extending portion 21 secured to the ends of an extension step 25. The upwardly extending portions 23 of these hangers are preferably offset inwardly as shown at 26 and are extended upwardly and pivotally attached to the respective levers 20, as indicated at 27. Thus it will be seen that when the arms 19 and levers 20 are in their uppermost positions where they are supported by the spring 17 the step 25 will be held tightly against the bottom of the lower step 2 as 21, as shown in Figure 1.

shown in Figure 2. At this time the trap door 3 is closed and the crank arm 9 is swung laterally so as to pull lever 11 upwardly.

When the trap door 3 is swung upwardly to open position the shaft 7 will be rotated thereby so as to cause the crank arm 9 to thrust lever 11 downwardly. Thus the shaft 14 will be rotated against the action of spring 17 and the arms 19 will be swung downwardly into alignment with the links This will result in lever 20 being swung downwardly so that saidlever will thrust against its hanger 23 and cause the step 25 to swing clownwardly and laterally to the position shown in Figure 1 where it will be supported properly. When the trap door is swung down to closed position the movement of the parts will be reversed and the spring 17 will act positively to rotate shaft 14 so as to raise the step 25. If desired the sleeve 6 can be uncoupled from the shaft 7 in which event the operation of the trap door would not result in the actuation of the extension step.

What is claimed is 1. The combination with car steps, of superposed levers mounted at the sides of the steps, hangers pivotally connected to the levers and supported thereby,an extension step carried by the hangers and held thereby substantially horizontally at all times, a shaft, arms upon the shaft, link connections between said arms and the upper levers, and means operated by the movement of the trap door for rotating the shaft to move the extension step to active or to retracted position.

2. The combination with car steps and a trap door, of superposed levers mounted at the sides of the steps, hangers connected to the superposed levers, an extension step carried by the hangers and maintained thereby at all times in substantially horizontal position, a shaft mounted for rotation, arms thereon, link connections between the arms and the upper levers, yielding means for holding the shaft against rotation with the levers elevated and the extension step housed under the lower car step, and means operated by the raising of the trap door for shifting the shaft to move the extension step to active position.

3. The combination with car steps and a trap door, of superposed levers mounted at the sides of the step, hangers connected to and supported by the levers, an extension step carried by the hangers and maintained thereby constantly in a substantially-horizontal position, a shaft mounted for rotation, arms thereon, a connection between each arm and "one of the upper levers, a shaft having a crank arm, means for transmitting motion from the crank arm to the shaft, yielding means for holding the shaft normally against movement with the levers elevated and the extension step housed under and against the lower car step, and a connection between the trap door and the crank shaft for transmitting motion to said shaft from the door.

4. The combination with car steps and a trap door, of superposed levers pivotally mounted at the sides of the steps, hangers connected thereto, an extension step connected to the hangers and maintained thereby constantly in a substantially horizontal position, a shaft mounted for rotation, arms thereon, link connections between the arms and the upper levers, a shaft having a crank arm, means for detachably coupling said shaft to the trap door for rotation therewith, a lever, a link connection between said lever and the crank arm, link connections between said lever and the first named shaft, and yielding means for holding the parts normally in elevated positions.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own, we have hereto affixed our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

CLEO LOVELAOE.

Witnesses:

D. BPEARsALL, R. G. LAWE. 

